Tips for Small Businesses to Promote Online Content

Okay, so you've done keyword research, created a backlog of blog posts and set up a calendar so that all of your content will roll out on schedule.

But you're competing with countless posts every day. How do you get the first visitors to check you out? How does your content earn the attention it deserves?

Friends and Family

Start by asking friends and family to spread your message.

You can only do this so many times, so only ask for help specifically with big events. The initial launch of your site would be a good time, as well as when you're promoting content that has a wider potential interest base than your key demographic.

Help your close people be confident in sharing your content by educating them in the ways you help the customer. When they can make informed remarks about the value that you bring, their testimonials become more powerful.

Social Media

When your content is ready, spread the word on your personal and professional social media pages. You may be able to have your content shared automatically, but in any case, you'll need to find out how to share, and establish a process for regular sharing if it must be done manually.

Make sure to use a picture! There's no excuse anymore for not using a featured image with a social post.

Your Specialized Audience

Somewhere on the internet is a group of people who are ready to be fanatics for your product. Find out where these people are and make sure they can see what you're doing.

Online content is crucial to marketing for the future. If you're paying attention to your industry, you'll have found content sites with dedicated fans of the goods or services you're planning to offer. These people already like your product in theory. Now you can start helping them like it in practice.

Brick-and-Mortar

Make sure that any customers who come in to your physical location are aware of the new site. Tell them about the value it offers.

You can make customers lives a little easier by giving them a QR code to scan instead of directing them to enter a web address.

Advertise Whenever Relevant

While you probably want to avoid looking like the shameless self promoter, or the person who never stops talking about their job, always look for relevant ways to promote your work.

When a particular question you've recently addressed comes across your social media, drop a link into the discussion and preface it briefly, like "we discussed that recently on our blog."